Renato Lerner is a distinguished civil engineer and business leader with nearly three decades of experience in his field. Invision Investments is one of the leading real estate investment companies, focused on the acquisition and construction of single-family homes. Under Renato Lerner’s leadership, investors worldwide can achieve high profitability and rates of return on the market. Lerner graduated in civil engineering in Brazil, with an MBA from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), and has worked for over 10 years in Angola, where he founded the first center for Autism and Down Syndrome in the working, active until these days.
Company: Invision Real Estate Investments
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company
Renato Lerner: Invision Investments is a Florida-based real estate development and construction company specializing in high-quality residential properties, primarily in the luxury and premium segments. Founded in 2016, Invision was born from a personal desire to provide exceptional living spaces and capitalize on the thriving Florida real estate market.
Our journey began with the completion of our first luxury residence in Fort Lauderdale in 2017. Since then, we’ve expanded our portfolio to include a diverse range of projects, from smaller, more affordable homes to opulent mansions. What sets Invision apart is our unwavering commitment to quality. We utilize premium materials and employ skilled craftsmen to deliver homes that exceed expectations.
It all started when I came to the United States in mid-2013 and 2014. My dream was to bring my daughter here for better education opportunities. I had businesses in Angola that were going very well, but I caught myself living between three different countries, traveling every 20 days. At a certain point living on the air bridge became unbearable.
With all my experience from 10 years in Brazil building with large companies, such as Alpargatas (Havaianas), Telemar, Oi, and Siemens, from large commercial blocks to residential houses, I decided to invest here in the United States as a construction developer, until I got the title of General Contractor here, which was when we started constructing.
Can you share a time when your business faced a significant challenge? How did you navigate through it?
Renato Lerner: The most significant challenge faced by Invision was during the construction of a duplex project, which coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic caused several obstacles, such as mandatory shutdowns whenever a worker tested positive and interruptions in the supply chain, resulting in shortages and increased costs of materials. Despite these difficulties and a 12-month delay in construction, we maintained our commitment to investors, honoring all payments as agreed, without requesting adjustments to contracts. With organization and responsibility, we completed the project, fulfilling all the obligations to investors and partners, including banking institutions, with trust and transparency in our operations.
How has a failure or apparent failure set you up for later success?
Renato Lerner: Apparent failure can be seen as a valuable lesson learned, an opportunity to grow and strengthen. Instead of focusing on past mistakes, I always try to use these experiences to adjust processes, improve preparation and minimize risks in Invision’s future projects. Each challenge faced contributes to building a solid base of knowledge, allowing previous mistakes to be avoided and the development of future projects to be optimized. With 30 years of experience, the learning accumulated over time turns mistakes into baggage, strengthening the competence to carry out projects with greater precision and efficiency.
How do you build a resilient team? What qualities do you look for in your team members?
Renato Lerner: To build a resilient team, it is essential to prepare them to deal with adversity calmly and confidently. Resilience is developed through continuous training and sharing experiences, transmitting calm and security in difficult times. Recognizing that problems will always arise, the idea is to teach team members that challenges are part of the process and that the solution happens step by step. Thus, the approach is to tackle each obstacle in an organized way, overcoming the challenges and achieving the expected results, strengthening trust and team cohesion.
How do you maintain your personal resilience during tough times?
Renato Lerner: To maintain my resilience in difficult times, I rely on my passion for developing projects and the satisfaction of seeing people happy when they buy a property. This purpose motivates me not to give up, knowing that someone needs that house. I face challenges with the certainty that, although some problems seem unsolvable at first glance, there is always a way to overcome them with calm and strategy. I believe that a good night’s sleep can offer a new perspective and clarity for finding solutions. In addition, I keep my faith in God, trusting that He is with us and enlightens us to overcome adversity.
What strategies do you use to manage stress and maintain focus during a crisis?
Renato Lerner: Keeping myself centered and balanced. I make an effort to keep running, taking time out for my mental health, even if it’s just an hour of my day. We can’t do anything for each other without rest and a minimum of self-care. It’s the same analogy as, in the event of an airplane crash, putting the mask on yourself and then helping others. As leaders, we need to be well to provide support and solutions to those around us.
How do you communicate with your team during a crisis?
Renato Lerner: In times of crisis, I maintain the same communication approach I use in normal times: calmly and patiently. It’s essential to recognize that the young people on the team may feel more anxious, but they also bring valuable contributions to the company’s development. My priority is to convey calm, showing that we can face challenges together. To solve problems, I adopt a collaborative approach: I bring the team together so that we can identify the issues in brainstorming sessions. In this way, we can explore different solutions in a structured and focused way, fostering an environment where everyone feels heard and part of the solution.
What advice would you give to other CEOs on building resilience in their organizations?
Renato Lerner: When faced with a crisis, we need to remain calm and practice dialog. We are nothing without the other members of our team. So I suggest creating spaces for listening conversations between team members, regardless of their position. Dialogue and collaboration build trust in your leadership and among everyone on your team.
How do you prepare your business for potential future crises?
Renato Lerner: It begins with the company’s fundamentals. Have your structure secured, especially with your finances. You can face any crisis when you have your savings, a strong theme, and a good scenario vision. Risk analysis and organization are crucial for success.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about leadership in times of crisis?
Renato Lerner: My journey was greatly influenced by leaders I met early in my career, such as an Israeli named Mony, with whom I worked shortly after graduating in 1997. He taught me the importance of calmness and to trust that there is always a solution to problems, even if it doesn’t come right away. I learned that it is essential to share challenges and seek help, as there are many people willing to collaborate and bring valuable ideas.
A good leader must know how to listen, especially to the more experienced and younger members of the team, as both have different perspectives that can enrich the search for solutions. I remember an experience in a factory where we faced problems with uniforms wearing out quickly. By talking directly to the workers in the field, I discovered that the wear was mainly in the belly and knee areas, something that no one in the offices would have identified. By reinforcing these parts, we solved the problem simply and effectively, without the need for expensive consultants.
These lessons also apply to product development. On another occasion, an innovative solution to increase toothpaste sales came from a simple suggestion: increase the diameter of the opening, so that more product was used with each application. This was proposed by someone who wasn’t part of the upper echelons, but who observed the problem and offered a practical and cost-effective solution.
These stories have taught me that practical knowledge, often from the shop floor, is just as valuable as strategies formulated in executive meetings. A leader needs to be open to hearing all voices, recognize good ideas no matter where they come from, and understand that true innovation can arise from details and simplicity.